updated 08:30 am EST, Fri November 16, 2007

Amazon Kindle Monday

Amazon's much-delayed Kindle eBook reader and matching service are due to launch on Monday, CNET claims late yesterday. Citing an unnamed industry source, the firm alleges that Amazon's device will be introduced at a New York City event and should rely more on an Internet connection than any previous eBook reader. The handheld will include Wi-Fi to let its users buy eBooks from a new Amazon store section devoted to the format. The online retailer is also likely to have signed a deal with Sprint that will give EVDO cellular Internet access for travelers and is even providing each system with an e-mail address, the source says.

Readers will have the choice of newspaper subscriptions for the New York Times and Wall Street Journal that automatically download daily issues; this appears to echo previous reports from the French paper Les Echos that it would have an Amazon eBook edition. Onboard storage will not just handle text but also audiobooks courtesy of a headphone jack; rather than directly illuminate the back of the electronic paper display, the unit will reportedly include an adjustable reading light.

If accurate, the price of Amazon's reader is set at $399 and may include at least one well-known book as part of a bundle. The cost of the digital newspaper subscriptions and eBooks is unknown.

Amazon is known to have been developing the Kindle for a long time, with very early reports surfacing in late 2006 but most of the current details appearing this spring. A rumored October launch is now suspected to have been delayed due to last-minute issues.